In any small town, don’t ask what there is to do. You’ll end up in an ice cream parlour. Bangalore used to be one of those small towns. We had pubs and ice cream parlours; your choice depended either on your age or your level of daring. (Now we have restaurants). I didn’t give ice cream parlours a thought for years, until Swensen’s opened up in Kammanahalli. Now, take a moment of silence to think about where Swensen’s opened up. On the same crossroads where, within five minutes’ walking distance, you can find (with a little give or take in a city that changes every three minutes):

Corner House, where we used to go when we were younger or not daring enough to go into pubs. Where most people choose to die by chocolate, and some of us chose chocolate mousse with cream instead.

Baskin Robbins, which, way back when, was where we discovered the Bountiful Nature of American Ice Cream. There were different kinds of chocolate. They had so many flavours they used to brag about it right along with their logo. Many things have happened since. We’ve discovered even more flavours.

Gelato Italiano, where a lot of my gym-non-buddies went to indulge themselves, but not much, after a round of aerobics. Sure. It’s less fat content. We believe you.

Naturals, where variety is taken seriously. In the evenings, people spill out into the streets with cups of tender coconut or sitaphal, and make the outdoors look interesting again.

Composition by Nitya Bala

Cream Stone, which gives you similar fare to Corner House, but more nattily presented in a waffle cup. They have a large number of young male employees who seem largely unoccupied, which means the beating of the ice cream is done with wonderful enthusiasm. I have to admit, it does have a satisfying creaminess at the end.

And now back to Swensen’s. For a certain age group, a tall glass with more than one layer of any ice cream is all you need. Having crossed that age, I think back on the 90s instead, when American ice cream was considered the epitome of all the things a child could aspire to eat.

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